Home
by Scoliosis
Summary: Anakin returns home, but things are not as they appear on the surface. Complete.


Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. All recognizable plots, characters, things, ideas, places, events, etc. that are from Star Wars or any of Mr. Lucas' other works belong completely to him, and not to me.

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Author's Note: This is just a quick oneshot that has been swimming around my mind for the last few days. I wanted to get it posted quickly, because I am leaving tonight for vacation, and will not be back for a week or so. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my stories, and if you are reading my story, _Sometimes_, I will try to update once I get back. :)

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He roamed the empty halls, allowing a light-colored hand to glide slowly over the smooth exterior of the walls. Visions of death, blood, and screams overwhelmed his mind for a moment, but he quickly pushed them aside, allowing the fear to pass. _It was just a dream_, he though contently. That was what he appreciated most about nightmares, if there was anything to appreciate at all. Although they terrified you momentarily, upon waking, you realized, "None of that was true. _This_, not _that_, is reality."

As his pace grew quicker, he nodded a greeting to a few bystanders alongside him. He smoothed a wrinkle out of his thick robes as he walked, enjoying their course feel. _Why does it seem like I haven't experienced any of these things in quite sometime_? he wondered curiously, shaking his head thoughtfully. It was strange, too strange.

Ignoring his jumbled feelings, he quickly darted behind a door as a few Jedi Masters passed by. He did not want them delaying his course of action: to see his beloved, albeit secret, wife. _No one is going to stop me from seeing her_, he vowed inwardly, turning a corner and stopping dead in his tracks. "Padmé?" he stuttered, surprised to see his love in the Jedi Temple.

"Of course," she said playfully, raising her brows. "Where else would I be but here?" Her shimmered with humor, and he moved closer to her, breath quickening.

"It's so good to see you again," he said softly, lifting a hand to stroke her dark curls.

She smiled, turning around to revealing three young children. "Daddy!" the oldest, a boy, yelled excitedly, throwing his arms around his father.

Anakin scooped him up, saying, "I missed you so much! Were you good for your mother while I was away?" He glanced down at his remaining children, a young, five-year-old girl with hair as dark as her mother's, and a two-year-old boy who shared his older brother's blond hair. "Was your brother good?"

The girl frowned, shaking her head, dark, curly tresses bobbing up and down. "Nope. Luke didn't listen to Mommy when she told him to keep his room clean. It's full of stuff!"

Luke frowned and stuck out his tongue, insisting, "I did clean it! You can even look at it!" The two continued to argue back and forth, each certain that the other was completely wrong.

Setting his son down, Anakin turned to his last child, smiling. "How were you, Rone? Did _you _give your mother trouble?" The small boy opened his mother to speak, but closed it as a familiar scream erupted from his body, and a bloody slice began to appear over his stomach. "RONE?" the Jedi knight screamed, hear thumping wildly in his chest. "Call a healer!"

Suddenly, the walls began to crumble and tear, while hundreds and hundreds of bodies rotted in scattered piles about the room, filling the hallways with their horrible stench. He half-stumbled over one of them, before falling to his feet in front of the lifeless face of dead child. Burn marks surrounded his flesh, red, blood stains that had long-since dried visible on his dirtied tunic.

_This is my nightmare!_ his mind screamed. Blue eyes darted about the temple, taking in its dirtied, ruined appearance, the absence of all life, the horrible images of dead children . . . _Where is Padmé? Where are they all? What has happened—_

Darth Vader's eyes shot open, obscured beneath the shadow of his dark helmet. He stood to his feet, eyeing the skeletons resting in random points throughout what had once been the Jedi temple. None had received a proper burial; a final mockery to what had once been the mighty Jedi order. Sighing, he pushed a button on a control panel, waiting patiently to exit. The door slid open with a loud whoosh, allowing sunlight to stream into the ruins of the place he had once called home.

_It was only a dream_. He left, black cape trailing behind. It was amazing how easily one could be convinced that dreams of lost memories were actually reality.


End file.
